Reid, Buckley announce housing plan

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.

Another 160 apartment units to assist low-income seniors in the Las Vegas Valley would be built under a proposal announced this morning by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and state Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

The plan would allow residents of the proposed assisted-living facility better access to health care, and meals would be served in a communal setting.

The state demographer estimates that 206,000 people aged 65 and over lived in Nevada in 1999. A figure on how many earned low incomes was not immediately available.

"I would encourage the members of the Nevada Legislature to give their full support to this proposal and to find the necessary funding to turn this idea into a reality," Reid said. "Our seniors are one of Nevada's greatest treasures, and we should do all we can to see that couples aren't foced to live apart when a husband or wife requires extended care."

The facility would be built on land secured at a cheaper cost through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Act. Reid said he has the support of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Buckley said she plans to push for the proposal during the 2001 legislative session, which starts Feb. 5.

"This project provides seniors who can no longer live independently with a home where they can receive the level of assistance they need at the most affordable cost," Buckley said.

Residents would pay rent based on a sliding income scale.